We need to talk about THAT scene.
aemon is losing his mind. The Targaryen prince, played by Matt Smith, has spent all of House of the Dragon season 2 so far going insane in Harrenhal. He’s drinking mysterious potions, seeing ghosts, and angering all the Riverland lords with his inability to lead. He has also seemingly struck out on his own and left his wife, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). Daemon now believes he is the rightful ruler of Westeros…and his subconscious is stroking his ego in rather unusual ways.
That’s right, Dragon fans. You’re probably here because Daemon dreamed about having sex with his mother last night. Yup. That sex scene was with Alyssa Targaryen (Emeline Lambert), the late Jahaearys’s daughter and the mother to both Daemon and Viserys. Though the incestuous scene isn’t far from House of the Dragon’s realm of possibility, the woman’s first (and sudden!) appearance was enough to do a double-take at the screen.
What Alyssa says to Daemon is even more unsettling. “Daemon…you were always the strong one. The finest swordsman. The fearless dragon rider,” Alyssa tells her son as he performs oral sex on her. Gross! “Your brother had great love in his heart, but he lacked your constitution. Viserys was unsuited for the crown, but you, Daemon, you were made to wear it,” she continues. “If only you’d been born first, my favorite son.” Then blood runs down her chest. Double gross! For more on Alyssa Targaryen’s horrific first appearance, read on.
Episode 5 featured the first appearance of Daemon’s mother, for better or for worse.
So Who Was Alyssa Targaryen?
As with most Targaryen relationships, incest runs in the family. Daemon’s parents—Alyssa and Baelon Targaryen—were siblings. According to George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the couple were very sexually active. Alyssa’s “sounds of pleasure could be heard all the way to Duskendale,” the book states. Hmm…I’m beginning to see why Daemon is the way he is.
Alyssa was named after her grandmother, Alyssa Velaryon, who ruled as Queen Regent until Jaehaerys came of age. They lived in a time of peace under their father’s reign. Alyssa also rode Melys, the great red dragon who is later passed down to her niece, Rhaenys (Eve Best). Sadly, Daemon did not know his mother long. In the book, he is around five years old when Alyssa passes away due to childbirth complications. She was twenty-four years old.
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What does Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) want with Daemon (Matt Smith)?
Why Did Daemon Have This Dream?
Well, it seems as if Harrenhal is getting the better of him. The castle is haunted—or at least everyone always says it is. In House of the Dragon season 2, audiences are finally seeing just what kinds of ghostly apparitions appear in this place. Daemon is also under the influence of a strange potion that a witch named Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) made for him. I don’t know why he decided to drink it, but Rivers has been a very persuasive presence during his time at Harrenhal. In episode 5, she even questions him by asking, “It’s a pity, don’t you think, that you never knew your mother?”
Even weirder? Alyssa’s words echo something that Viserys (Paddy Considine) said to Daemon back in season 1, episode 4. “You were always Mother’s favorite,” Viserys tells his brother when he returns from his battle in the Stepstones. “Our mother, she had no regard for custom or tradition, rules. And I, sadly, was no great warrior.” Sound familiar? It’s almost exactly what Alyssa tells Daemon during his sex nightmare.
For now all we can hope for is that Daemon deals with his demons—or gets out of that haunted castle for good.
